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5 Things You Should Know Before Choosing Cloth Diapers

by Word of Mom Blogger on January 15, 2014

Word of Mom Blogger

About the Author

The best parenting bloggers share their thoughts on the wild and crazy journey of raising kids.

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WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Jenny is a busy work-at-home mom to an "all boy" toddler. She works in the cloth diaper industry and shares her passion for cloth diapers on her blog, Cloth Diaper Revival. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

We chose to use cloth diapers before our son was even born. My husband is very budget conscious, and I was stressing over how I could convince him to spend money on the premium brands of disposable diapers. He jokingly mentioned we should use cloth diapers. My mind ventured into the land of "old school" diapers, imagining diaper pins and plastic pants. I quickly dismissed his suggestion until a visit to a local baby boutique painted a completely different picture for me.

The cloth diaper section was full of bright colors and fun prints. These diapers were incredibly soft, nothing like a scratchy, thin disposable diaper. They were easy to use, resembling a disposable diaper in function — but better! I was hooked from the get-go and my obsession only got worse after my son was born and we were using the diapers.

There are many different reasons parents choose to use cloth diapers. Benefits of cloth include cost savings, less environmental impact, and keeping chemicals away from your baby's delicate skin. Here's a list of five things you should know before choosing cloth diapers:

They will save you a ton of money! The average cost to diaper one baby in disposable diapers for two years is about $1,600. Not all children potty train by the age of two, so add another year and you're looking at over $2,000 per child. That's a lot of money! You can build a cloth diaper stash for anywhere from $100-$500 depending on the style of diaper you choose. That stash will not only last through one child, but can be reused for multiple children. If you buy an "expensive" cloth diaper stash and use it for three children, you have spent $500 on diapers. In disposable diapers, that would have cost you over $4,800. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to keep my extra $4,300 plus and use it on something else — like a college fund, family vacation, or a home remodel!

Cloth diapers are easier to use than you think. Cloth diapers used to be the norm. Even when disposable diapers were introduced 50 plus years ago, many families simply stuck with what they knew (and could afford). It wasn't until the last 30 years that disposable diapers became the mainstream choice for diapering your baby.

Now, you may say that times have changed, more mothers work outside of the home, we have improved life and the products we use — but cloth diapers have changed, too. Sure, the old school ways of cloth diapering (pins, flats, prefolds) are still an option, but there are also all-in-ones, hybrids, and pocket diapers! These diapers go on your baby the same way a disposable diaper would, using snaps or Velcro. In fact, the biggest difference is that you wash them instead of throw them away!

There is extra laundry involved. This may be one of the biggest factors (other than poop, see number 4) that scares away most parents from trying cloth diapers. Cloth diaper laundry is easy and not that much more effort. After all, how hard is it to throw a load of laundry in before you start dinner or go to bed? You don't even have to fold your diapers once they are clean. You can store them in a basket and just pull one out as you need it.

Both cloth and disposable diapers mean you'll have to deal with poop. When I tell people I use cloth diapers, a lot of them look at me like I'm crazy. There's this perception that I'm touching poop every day.

But if you've ever spent any decent amount of time with a baby in disposable diapers, you are probably familiar with the term "blowouts." These gross instances occur when the baby poops and the diaper can't contain the mess. There's poop on the baby, on the baby's outfit, whoever was holding the baby, or the crib/swing/car seat that the baby was seated in. It's a mess. Cloth diapers do a much better job of holding in messy poops. Blowouts are rare and, dare I say, almost nonexistent with cloth diapers.

Of course, when your baby poops in a cloth diaper you won't be throwing that diaper away like you would in a disposable diaper. But there are easy inventions that prevent you from touching the poop: Diaper sprayers and flushable liners help to make cleanup a breeze!

Cloth diapers can be addictive. Many cloth diapering moms find themselves addicted to cloth diapers once they make the switch. It's just like any other addiction to a clothing item. Cloth diapers can act as an accessory. Cloth diapering moms tend to find themselves window shopping daily, talking about their diapers a lot, and just genuinely feeling happy when they look at how adorable their baby looks in a cloth diaper. It may sound crazy, but it's true!

The good news about cloth diapers is they have a high resale value. If you are thinking about giving it a try, there's no harm in doing so! If you don't fall in love, you can always resell the diaper. Or, you could try a cloth diaper trial program at a cloth diaper retailer. Although, you will probably love your little one's fluffy bottom! Just put yourself in your baby's shoes (or diapers) — would you be more comfortable wearing cotton or paper underwear all day?